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Review: Edge of Tomorrow

Oct 12th, 2014

“The other day I saw that Tom Cruise sci fi flick in IMAX 3D. It was really good!” is not the sort of thing I’m supposed to say. At all. Examples of the sort of things I’m supposed to say: “Like Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow is another flaccid blockbuster which thinks watching Tom Cruise fall out of a beautifully rendered spaceship counts as a ‘story’”, “The audience, like the film’s protagonist, is forced to rewatch tropes they’ve seen play out a thousand times before”, “Releasing a futuristic movie about Normandy Beach on the anniversary of D-Day is a shameless PR stunt. Save your money and watch something with an actual point of view.”

I should say that sort of thing, but I can’t. Edge of Tomorrow was a genuinely good movie. Its stars are engaging, its story riveting, and the time travel conceit dances nicely between Groundhog Day / About Time lightheartedness and the heavier toll it exacts on its lead. The ending wasn’t perfect, and it didn’t quite hit the unique sci fi heights of, say, Looper. But it was solidly crafted, visually stunning, and never, ever boring. Review below: